FMA03Month Week 1 - Elrics & Family
by Prettywitchiusaka
Summary: It's FMA03Month on Tumblr, and to celebrate I'll be writing short fics centred around the 03 cast, relationships and mythology. This entry will be for Week 1 Entries centring around the Elrics, Rockbells and any family dynamic in 03.
1. Chapter 1

I'm Okay

by Prettywitchiusaka

It was a slow, uneventful day in Risembool, nothing more. But for once, Ed didn't mind. It gave him and his brother, Al a chance to figure out what to make Winry for her birthday.

"So what should we do, brother?"

Ed looked at his little brother with a curious gaze.

"About the presents?" he asked.

"Yeah," Al replied. "We don't have enough materials to make something from both of us, maybe we should just make one gift from both of us."

Ed put a hand to his chin and started to actually think over his brother's suggestion…for about ten seconds.

"Of course we can," he said in a smug tone. "All we have to do is divide up the clay evenly and we can both make separate gifts, a perfect equivalent exchange."

Al stared at him perplexed.

"We only had enough money to buy two boxes of clay, remember?"

Ed cringed.

"Well, we're just gonna have to make something small this time," he replied.

"You mean like a bracelet?" Al asked.

Ed thought about it for a moment. "Well, I was thinking more of a hairpin, but yeah," he said with a smile.

His brother's big, brown eyes widened with excitement.

"Can **I** make Winry a hairpin?"

"No, it was my idea!"

"Oh come on, brother!"

Ed pouted and shoved his hands in his pockets.

He looked up ahead and as an outline of a white picket fence. Beyond the fence was a big, two story house with an oak tree at the base of the hill.

They're home.

And even from a mile away, he can smell the scent of fresh apple pie baking in the oven. And his mother? She sits at the dinner table, waiting with a patience he greatly lacked.

With a big grin, Ed turned to his brother.

"I'll race you to the top for it?" he asked.

Al nodded.

"You're on!"

Ed bolted up the hill, his brother right behind him.

He looked over his shoulder, and through his blonde bangs, he could make out the outline of a distant, huffing Al lagging a few feet behind him, doing his best to catch up and failing.

He chuckled; looks like he was winning this round!

Ed reached the fence, touched it and jumped for joy. He looked into the kitchen window…and felt a sense of dread and unease.

His mother was at the table like always, reading a fantasy book with a smile on her face. She looked up, as if sensing that someone was watching her, and waved at him.

Ed waved his hand awkwardly…and gulped.

"You okay, brother?"

Ed turned to see Al standing next to him and looking concerned. Ed just smiled and said "Yeah, I'm fine."

Al smiled and Ed breathed a sigh of relief, feeling at peace once again.

"Come on, Al. We still gotta make Winry's-"

Next thing Ed knew his brother was gone, almost like he'd vanished into thin air.

"Al?"

He looked down and gasped.

His brother really was gone; there was nothing left of him but the clothes on his back and the basket of clay he'd been carrying.

"Al?… Al!?"

Ed didn't know what to do. His breathing was getting heavy, his mind was drawing a blank. If he didn't act soon, his brother might be gone forever.

But what **could** he do?

In his panic, his eyes fell on the familiar sight of his home. Yes, that's it, he thought! Surely, his mom would know what to do.

So he ran for the front door.

"Mom! Mom!-"

He fell to the ground with a hard thud. He looked down at his leg…and froze in fear at the dripping stump where his leg used to be.

No! No, he couldn't think about that right now! His brother was missing. So he crawled towards the door and opened it.

"Mom! Mom, help! It's Al! He's-"

Ed fell silent. There's a creature on the ground, harbouring a vague resemblance to his mother.

Only it wasn't his mother. It was a grotesque, inhumane looking creature with bursting muscle tissue and glowing, red eyes.

And it was moaning, like it was begging for someone to put it out of its misery.

He screamed.

Ed bolted up in bed, panting and sweating profusely. He rubbed the sleep from his eye and was greeted with the image of an unfamiliar wall.

" _Where am I_?" he thought.

"Brother?"

He turns to face a pair of concerned, glowing eyes he didn't recognize at first.

"Alphonse?"

He held up his arm; automail.

His leg? Automail.

And Al? Still in his suit of armour.

Ed breathed a sigh of relief as the last few hours came flooding back to him; he was in a hotel room in some small town in the east, catching some shut eye after the long day him and Al

had endured.

The whole thing had been a nightmare.

Well, sort of. Everything in it was something that Ed experienced a long time ago, just at different times. Pieces of memory cobbled together like some shambling chimera that never ceased to haunt him.

Never giving him a moment's peace.

"Brother, are you okay?"

He turned to look at his brother…and smiled. He couldn't do it, not tonight. He'd already cried too much in front of Al, and he knew his brother worried for him in these situations.

One time wouldn't kill him.

"You worry too much, Al," he said. "Of course I'm okay-"

"Brother!"

And just like that, his smile faded away. Al had seen right through him once again.

"No, I'm not okay," he replied "I was dreaming about mom, again and I…I don't know. I guess I'm still…"

And then he buried his face in his hands…and cried.

"It's okay, Brother," said Al. "Just take your time."

Beneath the veil of his bangs, Ed smiled and did just that. Al was right here, ready to listen to him like always.

The End


	2. Chapter 2

Benefits

by Prettywitchiusaka

Alphonse Elric didn't need to sleep. Being a soul attached to a suit of armour, he didn't get tired like his brother did, didn't need to rest and retain information.

He just did it because he liked to.

He liked lying down to a warm, soft mattress. Or a cold, hard surface if he had to, he wasn't picky.

He enjoyed curling up under a blanket like a kitten, liked it when he would lay on his side. But most of all, he loved the quiet that came with night. When the world, it seemed, came to a halt and became the peaceful place he knew as a child.

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, though.

He'd sleep for an hour or two, then jolt awake suddenly in the early hours of the morning, as if he'd just escaped a nightmare. He'd drift off, eventually. But as he'd wait for sleep to claim him, he lay there and wonder.

When would he get his body back?

When would he be able to sleep uninterrupted, like everyone else?

When would he be normal, again?

Still, even Al had to admit this sporadic sleep schedule of his had its benefits.

One morning at around Five a.m., Al heard the sound of footsteps approaching the barn him and Ed had snuck into for the night. He looked out the window and saw a man in boots and overalls walking towards the barn.

What really made Al nervous though was the pitchfork he was carrying.

He gently shook his brother. "Brother!" he whispered. "Brother, wake up!"

Ed grumbled. "What is it, Al?" he said as he rubbed the sleep from his eye.

"Someone's coming! We have to go!"

Ed immediately understood and nodded his head in agreement.

"You get my stuff, I'll transmute us a way out of here."

"Right!"

Two minutes later, and the Elrics were running through a cornfield, leaving behind a giant, inflatable slide behind the barn, courtesy of Ed's clap alchemy.

"I don't get it, how did you know that old guy was coming?"

"Uh…,"Al stammered. "Just got lucky, I guess."

Ed seemed to accept that answer and kept running.

Al sighed in relief; for once, he was glad his brother wasn't pry any further.

The End


	3. Chapter 3

It's The Least I Can Do

by Prettywitchiusaka

Winry exited the hardware store with a big smile on her face.

And really, why shouldn't she? She was only in East City because her grandma, Pinako had asked her to pick up some nuts and bolts in city stores. But when she saw that store front display with its newly shined automail parts and discount wrenches and screwdrivers, she just knew she had to have them!

"And grandma says you can't find good stuff here!"

She dug into the plastic bag and pulled out the screwdriver she'd purchased. It's metal pointer glistened in the mid-afternoon sun, and the handle was made of the finniest wood money could buy.

Winry beamed with pride; already, she's imagining customers praising her flawless handiwork and attention to detail. And she tells them how easy it was with her screwdriver she bought in the city!

She giggled like a schoolgirl! She hadn't been this happy since the last time Ed'd taken her out shopping!-

Silence.

Just like that, the mere thought of her childhood friend, the one she'd known since she was old enough walk had reduced her to a solemn state.

Her smile faded, from her lips came a sigh, and her big, blue eyes stared at the brick pavement below her, possibly to mask the tears she knew were starting to well up.

She made her way down the street, thinking only of him.

It's not as if she hadn't seen Ed and Al at all in the past four years. She'd get a call from them every now and then, asking her to get on the next train and fix Ed's limbs.

They'd fight, bicker, maybe even go out for tea and cake. But the closeness they once shared, that feeling of friendship and family didn't exist anymore.

At least that's how it felt.

In four years, they never came home. Never sent a telegram, not even a letter. It frustrated her.

Why were those two always so eager to keep her out of the loop? She knew that Ed's work was important to him, but there were days where she wished he'd just give up and come home. She usually kicked herself for even entertaining such thoughts, but sometimes it was hard for her not to feel spiteful.

And forget about running into him in East City! Him and Al were probably far away in another city, and even if they weren't she had no way of contacting them.

Winry sighed. " _Why do I even bother_?"

She walked off the curb…and was pulled back by the elbow. She didn't know why, until she heard the screeching of tires and the sound of a horn going off.

Then it hit her; she nearly walked out into on coming traffic and someone came to her rescue! Maybe a tall, handsome man.

"Idiot, watch where you're going!"

Winry growled; the nerve of this guy! First he saves her, and then he insults her!

"Hey! Don't call me an-" She froze. Immediately, she recognized the long locks of black hair. The crisp, blue military uniform covered by a stylish long coat. And the intimate, stoic gaze that felt like it was staring into your very soul. "Oh, Colonel Mustang."

"Hello, Winry."

He let go of her elbow and shoved his hands into his pockets.

Winry, now embarrassed, rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry about that, it's been a few years so I didn't recognize you there," she replied.

"No, it's okay," he said, his gaze turned away from her this entire time. "Just…be careful next time."

He turned his back to her and walked the other away.

"O..kay…"

Winry turned to the cross walk, this time with her eye on the road and sighed. She was hoping to ask the Colonel about Ed and Al, but that plan went up smoke.

Then again, Mustang didn't seem like the talkative type. He barely spoke to her the night he first came to her house, and that time she barely escaped from Barry the Chopper he wouldn't even look at her.

Did he just not like her?

Maybe Ed was right; Colonel Mustang was a bastard. A ruthless, loathsome bastard.

"Wait."

Winry turned around and gasped as the Colonel, now with a soft, guilt ridden look to his eyes addressed her.

"Look, I'm sorry. It's been a long day and I'm usually cranky right after my shift," he explained. "Why don't I buy you a cup of coffee and we'll call it even?" he asked.

Winry didn't even need to think twice about what her answer was going to be.

"Sure," she said with a smile.

…..

Winry took a bite from her slice of cheesecake and washed it down with some hot tea.

She look at Colonel Mustang-sorry, Roy, he said it was to call him Roy, and gulped. He'd barely said a word to her since they sat down twenty minutes ago.

Oh sure, he'd told her she order whatever she wanted, he even flirted with the waitress a little. But once they got their order, he just sat there with his legs crossed and his cheek to her. Hell, he'd barely touched his coffee.

Winry placed the cup down and stared at her reflection in the green brew.

" _What should I say_?" she thought.

He'd gone to the trouble of bringing her here, the least he could do was engage with her in a conversation.

"So, what brings you to East City?"

"What?" She looked up to see him staring at her. "Oh, I'm just running an errand for my grandma."

"I see."

Winry chuckled and took another sip of tea…Now they were back to awkward silence.

Winry was getting tired of this, so she decided to go for the obvious question.

"How are Ed and Al?"

Roy shrugged.

"How should I know," he said. "I don't hear from them for weeks at a time."

Winry felt her heartstrings drop.

"Oh…," she said. "I see..."

She sighed internally. Typical Edward; never telling anyone about his plans while his brother, usually the voice of reason between the two, went along with his brother's whims.

It made her want to scream.

"Why? Have you not heard from them?"

She looked at Roy and noticed a hint of concern in his eyes.

"No, Ed hasn't sent me a letter in years," she replied. "Most I ever hear from them is newspaper clippings people send me through telegram, or the occasional repair request."

"When was the last time you heard from them?"

"Last year, when Ed broke his arm."

Roy shook his head in utter disbelief.

"Geez, that kid," he muttered.

Winry chuckled.

"Yup, that's Ed for you," she said. "Just does what he wants without a second thought."

She took another bite of her cheesecake.

"I'm sure you'll hear from him, someday."

Winry gasps. With wide eyes, she look up at Roy and sees his mouth has formed into a soft smile. But she can only stare at him with sad eyes.

"I doubt it," she said. "If I haven't heard from him in almost a year, what makes you think I'll hear from him now?"

He takes a sip of coffee and says "Because he's a soldier." He places the cup on the table, ready to explain his answer to this confused girl.

"He does dangerous work and sometimes…well, sometimes it's better to keep your loved ones at a distance, you never know who's watching. I'm not saying it's good or even healthy, but sometimes it's all you can do to keep someone safe."

Winry's eyes widen; the way he speaks so matter-of-factly about this subject, as if he has experience with this sort of situation, gives him an air of maturity, a sense that he is an adult to be respected.

But even that's not enough to convince her.

"That's all well and good, but what if you're right?" she asks. "Then I probably won't see them again for another two years or so."

Roy smirked.

"I doubt it. You know how stubborn Edward is, he's gonna have to break his arm and leg sometime. And when he does, you'll need to be prepared for that, don't you think?"

Winry gasps excitedly! How come she never thought of that?

"Yeah, you're right! Thanks, Roy."

Roy smiles. "Don't mention it, kid," he said. "It's the least I can do."

"What?"

"Colonel!"

Winry and Roy turn to face a military woman with clipped up blonde hair, and amber eyes that stared at the young Colonel with restrained fury.

Roy smiled at her.

"Lieutenant," he replied. "What brings you here?"

The woman frowns.

"You know why I'm here, Sir," she replied. "You were supposed to return to the office half an hour ago."

He chuckles.

"Sorry about that, I was on my way back when I ran into an old friend of ours."

The woman, whom Winry now recognized to be Roy's assistant, Lieutenant Hawkeye turned to her.

Winry chuckled and waved nervously.

"Hi Lieutenant Hawkeye."

The Lieutenant's frown softened into a smile. "Winry," she said. "It's nice to see you, again."

Winry smiled.

"It's nice to see you, too," she replied. "I almost didn't recognize you with long hair, it really suits you."

"Thank you."

A few minutes later, they finished their drinks and left the café, after Roy paid the bill, of course.

"Thanks again for the cake and tea, Roy. It was delicious."

"No problem."

"Colonel?" said Riza. "We should get going."

He nodded. "Right."

Roy turned his gaze to Winry and smiled.

"Alright, we need to be on our way, Winry," he said. "It was nice seeing you, again."

She smiled.

"Thanks, it was nice seeing you, too."

Winry made her way past the duo, and vice versa. As they past each other, Roy placed a hand on her shoulder and said "Just be careful, next time."

He removed his hand from her shoulder and carried on walking.

Winry stood there in a daze, taking in the moment and committing it to memory. She turned and watched Roy and Riza as they grew further away.

They were chatting. Not the sort of small talk an officer and superior would engage in, though. No, this was the intimate sort of conversation. The kind between two old friends who knew everything about each other, and comfortable enough chat about anything.

Even Roy's posture was different; he looked more relaxed, more personable and friendly than he'd been before.

Winry smiled.

Maybe Ed was exaggerating in his letter when he said Roy Mustang was a bastard, he didn't seem so bad to her.

Her smile grew bigger as she made her way to the train station, ready to face the future with renewed confidence.

Still, there was one question on her mind, about Roy and what he'd said to her back at the coffee shop.

 _"It's the least I can do._ "

" _What did he mean by that?_ " she wondered.

It was only months later, as she stood above of her parents graves, having recently discovered their murder by military execution did she understand what Roy Mustang's words meant. And more importantly, why he'd said them.

The End


End file.
